External HD and Backingup Help!

[eyedoc_00]

I bought a Lacie d2 External HD and want to back up my computer before I take it in for service. As this is new to me I have some questions.

1. Do/Should I make the external HD a bootable drive? What would be the advantages? How do you do this?

2. I want to back up iPhoto which has over 10,000 pictures. I am not so worried about iTunes as I do have that backed up on my iPod. I would like to be able to have this data automaticaly updated on the external drive when I add pictures or music. Is this possible and how do I do it?

Thanks for the help?

 

[dogbone]

If it's a firewire drive then it can be bootable. Download SuperDuper as a free download. Backing up your hold hard drive is as simple as pressing a button.

SuperDuper has a smart update where after the first backup it only backs up the files that have changed. You can do it manually or set it to do it automatically.

I prefer to use SuperDuper to 'Backup all files' which makes a complete and exact copy of my HD, rather than the 'Sandbox' method.

You will need to partition your new HD with diskutility to make a partition that is the size of your hd if you want to completely back it up.

If you do a "backup all files" then when you get your computer back from service you can do the same procedure in reverse to back up from the d2 back to the computer HD.

 

[eyedoc_00]

I prefer to use SuperDuper to 'Backup all files' which makes a complete and exact copy of my HD, rather than the 'Sandbox' method.

You will need to partition your new HD with diskutility to make a partition that is the size of your hd if you want to completely back it up.

If you do a "backup all files" then when you get your computer back from service you can do the same procedure in reverse to back up from the d2 back to the computer HD.

It does have fire wire.
My internal HD is 400GB. My external is 250GB. Does not sound like this will work or am I not understanding what you mean.
What is "sandbox" and how is it different then "backup all files"?

 

[dogbone]

It does have fire wire.
My internal HD is 400GB. My external is 250GB. Does not sound like this will work or am I not understanding what you mean.
What is "sandbox" and how is it different then "backup all files"?

Using a 'sandbox' feature is not really back up. It just isolates your system. You actually are meant to run from the external sandbox. So if you do an upgrade and it buggers up your system then it has only buggered the sandbox, so you can then boot from the computer and everything will be as it was before the deadly upgrade. All your home folder files reside as aliases on the sandbox so with your own stuff you really are saving them on the computer hd even though you have booted from the external, but all system changes take place on the external.

You could do this as it only takes up enough space for the system but you haven't backed up any of your home files only your System. So you'd have to do that separately.

But I prefer to just have my whole HD backed up. Including the system. That's what 'backup all files' does. But as you say your external is smaller

It all depends I guess on what you want. If you want your system backed up or your files backed up or both. You obviously can't have both backed up if your backup is smaller. So you'll have to choose.

You could check on the superduper forum about the best way to go in your case.

 

[eyedoc_00]

It all depends I guess on what you want. If you want your system backed up or your files backed up or both. You obviously can't have both backed up if your backup is smaller. So you'll have to choose.

I think I just want to back up my home folder and all its contents, i.e., photos, music, documents and the like. I want to keep everything on my internal HD and just have a backup on an external just in case something happens.

 

[dogbone]

I'm only guessing but I would think in that case that you could just use SuperDuper to back up your home folder only and then use smart update to keep it up to date.

 

[eyedoc_00]

I guess my main concern is if I back up my home folder and something happens to the internal drive while at service, all I have to do is copy the home folder back to the computer and everything will be ok. Am I correct in that thinking?

 

[dextertangocci]

If it's a firewire drive then it can be bootable.

Can't Intel Macs boot from a USB drive?

 

[dogbone]

@dextertangocci,

i don't know.

I guess my main concern is if I back up my home folder and something happens to the internal drive while at service, all I have to do is copy the home folder back to the computer and everything will be ok. Am I correct in that thinking?

Depends on what you mean by 'OK'. But you will at least have a copy of everything that you need.

How much of your internal HD are you using. If you are using less than 250Gigs then you could still back up your entire hd to the external. As a one off this would be the best way to go. You would be insured against anything going wrong and SuperDuper is free unless you want to use it on a regular basis to smartupdate.

 

[eyedoc_00]

I have only used about 70Gigs. I would say iPhoto is the largest with almost 11,000 pictures. Next, would be iTunes maybe 1000 songs. The rest would be 1 page documents in pages, texedit and programs like that. I just want to be able to backup my photos without constanlty burning a dvd.

 

[dogbone]

I have only used about 70Gigs.

Well then you've got no worries. partition your new drive into an 80 gig and a 170 (or whatever is leftover) Then use superduper to copy your entire HD onto the 80gig volume. Set Superduper to "Backup—all files" and you will have an exact bootable copy of your HD as it now is.

Then it doesn't matter what the store does, because you can boot from the 80 gig partition then use superduper again to "Backup—all files" back to the internal drive. And everything will be as it was before.

edit. probably you don't even need to make a separate 80 gig volume.

 

[eyedoc_00]

Well then you've got no worries. partition your new drive into an 80 gig and a 170 (or whatever is leftover) Then use superduper to copy your entire HD onto the 80gig volume. Set Superduper to "Backup—all files" and you will have an exact bootable copy of your HD as it now is.

Then it doesn't matter what the store does, because you can boot from the 80 gig partition then use superduper again to "Backup—all files" back to the internal drive. And everything will be as it was before.

edit. probably you don't even need to make a separate 80 gig volume.

Thank you for answering all my questions.
I am going to get ready and set up the external drive. I think I am going to just take my home folder and back that up.